Blog Archive

In May of this year (2018) Genius Monkey announced that we became part of an elite group of companies that had earned the TAG Registered Seal, issued by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). We became one of the earlier companies to earn this seal, as we are hyper vigilant about the importance of trustworthiness in the advertising industry. We want our clients to feel at ease, knowing that we always take every measure we can to keep the products of their adspend free of fraudulent activity.

In November of this year, an analysis of TAG was conducted by the results-driven digital advertising infrastructure consultancy, The 614 Group, who provides strategic and tactical services to media clients. The results of the inventory indicated that the invalid traffic (IVT) was held to below 2% for the second consecutive year in a row. This update analysis revealed a reduction in fraud of more than 84% in TAG Certified distribution channels vs. the broader average.

As a marketer in this day and age (as well as marketers from yesteryear), you will most likely agree that one of the most important elements of spreading the good word is to know your target audience well enough to determine what it is that they want and need. Once this is accomplished -- deliver it! If this is done, your targeted audience members will be willing to give you what YOU need ... their business.

Unless you are intimately familiar with the psychology of your targeted audience, any demographics you claim are simply semantics. If you really want your message to be effective and your brand to be enticing, you must take the next step and get to know your customers better.

The researchers at Google are as dedicated at watching shoppers as avid bird watchers are at tracking down the ever-so-rare Helmeted Hornbill. This year, Google is scouting out the holiday Bargain Hunters -- who they are, where they shop, and how to reach out to them during this festive (and active) season.

More than half of all Bargain Hunters shop using a smartphone -- even when they are in the store

60% of these Bargain Hunters' online purchases are made with a mobile device

A large percentage of Bargain Hunters are millennial dads between their late 20s and 30s

96% of these millennial dads said that they had searched online for the items they were looking for

1 in 3 of these millennial dads indicates that he would prefer to do all his shopping during the four days of mad shopping ... Black Friday through Cyber Monday

Of these four-day Bargain Hunters, 70% said they bought because the item was on sale

A significant landmark was formed when, just in the first half of 2018, US advertisers spent just under $50 billion, which is an all-time high for the ad industry. To put this in perspective, that figure indicates a YOY increase of 23%, and shows no signs of slowing down! This, according to the Internet Advertising Revenue Report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Last year at the same time, the figures were at $40.3 billion ... almost $10 billion less!

Here are a few more items learned from the IAB's revenue report1:

Digital video advertising revenue reached $7 billion in the first half of the year, up 35% from a year ago, with 60% of this revenue attributed to mobile video

Mobile, which now accounts for nearly two-thirds (63%) of all digital ad revenue, continues to be the internet's leading ad platform up from 54% of total revenues in half-year 2017

MAdvertisers spent $30.9 billion on mobile media in the first half of 2018, up 42% from $21.8 billion over the same period last year

Mobile search advertising also grew considerably to $13.5 billion, with an increase of 37% in the first half, while desktop search was flat at $9.3 billion

Mobile search now accounts for 59% of total search revenue

Mobile display ad revenue grew 45% to $11.7 billion in the first half of the year, accounting for 74% of all display ad revenue

Social media revenue was $13.1 billion in the first half, up 38% year-over-year

Anyone who has ever done any road-traveling here in the U.S. has surely seen multiple signs for businesses that claim to have the "world's best" coffee, or the "nation's best" doughnuts, or the "best burgers" in the state ... you get the picture. So how can one be confident that what they would get by ordering from one of these establishments that boasts of having the "best" of anything is really, truly the absolute "best?"

Mobile searches for "best" have grown over 80% over the past two years 1

Mobile searches for things like "best face lotion" or "best moisturizer" have grown over 115% in the last two years 2

Mobile searches for "best salt" has grown by 375% over the last two years 3